


The Seed of Something New

by saltnhalo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Flirting, M/M, Tattoo Artist Castiel (Supernatural), Tattooed Castiel (Supernatural), Tattooed Dean Winchester, botanist dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23855662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo/pseuds/saltnhalo
Summary: Dean is just trying to enjoy his morning coffee when the tattoo artist from across the street (the one he's had a crush on for a long time, no big deal, not at all), drops in with a request.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 78
Kudos: 493





	The Seed of Something New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cryptomoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptomoon/gifts).



> Happy birthday crypto!! I went with a real simple gift this year, plants and tattoos, so I hope you like it! Thank you for being wonderful <3

“Good morning, sweetheart. How are we doing today?”

The monstera on the countertop doesn’t respond, but that’s nothing new. Instead, Dean just sips at his coffee as he checks over its leaves. “Another one coming in already?” he muses to himself, then reaches out to pat her pot. “Workin’ hard, darlin’. Keep at it.”

In the mornings, one of Dean’s favourite things to do is to just hang out in his shop, drink his coffee, and enjoy the company of his plants in the little while he has to himself before he has to open. It’s peaceful, and calm, and always helps him to start his day off on the right foot. Not that his job is usually very stressful—he enjoys helping people find their perfect plants, or spending most of the day pruning and potting and watering—but it’s always just a _little_ bit better with the addition of his morning ritual.

He leans his hip against the edge of his counter and drinks his coffee, letting the heat of the mug warm his hands. It’s cold out, which makes life a little more difficult for the plants out the back (who are, thankfully, more hardy), but inside his shop he keeps the temperature nice and steady, and it always makes it a nice place to be during the winter. Most of his plants are more than a little temperamental, after all—they’ll find any excuse to be unhappy.

Luckily, Dean is very good at his job.

It’s a few minutes before he’s set to open when there’s a knock on the front door of his shop. People dropping by just before eight isn’t unheard of, but he usually makes them wait until he’s actually open, because he’d rather not deal with people any earlier than he has to.

Dean leans to the side, trying to see if it’s anyone he recognises through the glass door without them being able to see him, and when he realises who it is, he relaxes straight away. Now _this_ is someone he doesn’t mind showing up a little early.

“Morning, Cas!” he says as he unlocks the front door and pulls it open. “You coming to visit me today, are you?”

Castiel looks, as always, fucking handsome as hell. The edges of his tattoos peek out from beneath his jacket and the collar of his shirt, and his lip piercing glints in the early morning sun as he smiles. His hair makes him look as though he just rolled out of bed—which he might have, considering he lives in the apartment above his shop, and that he is generally not considered to be a morning person.

It just makes the fact that he’s here so early all the more surprising, and a little bit special.

“I am,” Castiel confirms, in that deep voice of his that makes Dean weak at the knees. “I’m looking to brighten up my shop a little bit, so I figured I’d come and see if you had any recommendations. I… hope I’m not too early?”

“Nah, dude.” Dean waves him off with a dismissive hand, closing the door after him and leading him into the shop. “You’re special, I’ll make an exception for you.”

_Jesus, Winchester, you wanna make it any more obvious that you’re into the guy?_

Dean tries not to wince, and instead jerks his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the coffee pot. “You, uh, you want a coffee?”

There’s the faintest hint of an amused smile pulling at the edges of Castiel’s lips, and he nods. “I would love a coffee. I have early appointments today, so I wanted to come and see you first. I’m definitely going to need some caffeine to survive.”

 _I wanted to come and see you_.

Dean snorts his amusement at the second half of Cas’s statement, then turns away towards the coffee machine to hide the flush warming his cheeks. God, he’s like a fucking schoolgirl around Cas. “Busy day today? That reminds me, I need to come and get some more work done by you. I’ve got a couple of ideas that I’d love to get your opinion on.”

Castiel had been the one to do Dean’s absolute favourite tattoo—the vines that wind themselves elegantly from his forearm to his bicep, ending just below his shoulder. It’s clean and simple and fucking stunning, and that day had been the day that Dean had become addicted to having Cas’s hands on his skin. He’s been itching for another one ever since, and only _partly_ as an excuse to get close to the attractive artist.

He pours Cas a mug of coffee and makes his way back over, unable to keep himself from grinning as the proffered mug earns him a smile of gratitude. “You’re welcome to come around any time,” Castiel tells him, taking a long drink of his coffee between sentences. “We could even do a swap—you give me plants, I give you ink _of_ plants.”

He arches an eyebrow, the mug only half-hiding his teasing smile, and Dean makes a show of shuffling his feet guiltily. “You know me too well,” he shoots back, and damn, it’s way too fucking easy to flirt with Cas.

“That I do,” Castiel acknowledges, tapping his fingers idly against the side of his mug. “Do you think you’d be able to show me around a little before you open? If I’m not intruding, of course,” he hurries to add, in that slightly awkward but endlessly endearing way that has captivated Dean for a long time. “I just don’t think I’ve ever had the opportunity for a proper look inside your shop.”

Dean makes sure that his grin is extra-reassuring as he gestures around his shop with a dramatic flourish. “It would be my honour to give you a tour,” he declares, then winks at Castiel. “Don’t worry, you’re not intruding. You’re welcome around here any time.”

 _Please, Winchester, act_ more _desperate. Surely it’s not possible._

God, Dean’s brain has never been so good at forgetting how to flirt well in front of someone.

Luckily, Cas just smiles. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he says, and is Dean imagining things, or did his voice drop a little lower?

Imagining things, surely.

Before Dean can say anything else stupid or awkward (or both, god fucking forbid), he forces himself into action. He can stand here by his counter being a whole dumbass around Cas all day, but if he’s actually moving around, talking about his plants, he might stand more of a chance.

He leads Castiel around his store, taking the time to point out a couple of the different plants that he thinks would suit Cas’s studio, based on what he remembers of the lighting in there and also the fact hat they might not be getting constant care and attention. Cas listens attentively to everything that Dean says, always standing just an inch or two too close, and it really is a testament to Dean’s love of plants that he’s able to keep himself on track and not get too distracted.

By the time he’s finished showing Cas around, they’ve decided on a handful of plants for his studio, and Dean’s crush has definitely not abated any. If anything, having the guy pay such close interest to what Dean does for work and listen to his advice so intently has only made things worse for Dean.

 _Oh, well_.

“When do you want me to bring those plants over?” he asks Cas as they make their way back towards the front door. As he walks, he checks the time on his phone, and—

“Fuck, it’s past nine!”

Dean should have opened his store ten whole minutes ago, but instead he’s been standing here chatting to Cas like some kind of lovesick idiot—which he totally is, he won’t deny that at all.

But still. That’s a new low, even for him.

Castiel checks his watch, eyebrows quirking upwards. “Huh,” he says. “So it is.”

Considering he has clients this morning, he doesn’t seem particularly phased. Instead, he lets his arm drop back to his side and smiles at Dean, his eyes crinkling at the corners just a little. “Feel free to drop the plants over any time that suits. Maybe we can grab a coffee and talk about your next tattoo?”

Dean blinks, then rewinds their conversation in his head for a second, trying to figure out if he’d just _imagined_ Cas saying that, purely out of wishful thinking. _Did he just ask me out on a date?_

“Coffee?” he asks, his lips curling up into a grin. “What, my instant coffee isn’t good enough?”

Castiel’s eyes go wide, and he begins to shake his head, clearly about to backpedal and explain himself. The poor guy—Dean takes pity on him, holding out a hand to calm him down with a chuckle. “Chill, Cas, I’m just teasing. I’d love to grab coffee with you—or we could just… get a drink sometime?”

He’s trying to make it as clear as he can that he wants it to be a date, without making a fool of himself. Damn it, he’s not good at this shit.

Luckily, though, Cas seems to get it. The panic in his eyes fades away, and their corners crinkle fondly. “A drink sounds lovely, Dean. We can make plans when you bring the plants over—but for now, you have to open, and I’m sure that my clients will be waiting for me. I’ll talk to you later?”

Dean must be grinning from ear to ear like a lunatic by now, but since it doesn’t really seem to be fazing Cas, he can’t bring himself to care. “Talk to you later,” he confirms with a nod. He can only watch as Cas makes his way out of the store, then turns and gives Dena a small goodbye wave through the window, still dumbfounded at how this morning has turned out.

“Holy shit,” he mutters to himself as Cas crosses the street and disappears into his studio, then fistpumps into the air. “I got a date!”

His plants don’t react, to no one’s surprise, but he likes they think that they’re happy for him. That they _approve_ of Cas. Goddamn, he’s been dreaming of a moment like this for so long, as now that he’s seemingly stumbled his way into it, he couldn’t be fucking happier.

Dean does a little dance around his shop, until he notices an old lady has shuffled up to the door and is pressing her face close to the glass, trying to peer in. Fuck, he still hasn’t properly opened yet.

 _Work first_ , he reminds himself as he rushes over to flip the sign and let his customer actually enter the shop, _and_ then _you can focus on the date._

But regardless, for the rest of the day, Dean feels like he’s walking on air.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment or kudos if you liked this!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://saltnhalo.tumblr.com), and subscribe to me on ao3 [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo). Also, come join us at the [Profound Bond discord server](https://discord.gg/profoundbond), a home to Destiel fans from all walks of life <3


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